Back before seemingly every house in America had a doorbell camera or motion-sensing lights, people moving into a new neighborhood could look forward to a visit from the "Welcome Wagon:" a representative, usually a woman referred to as a "hostess," armed with a basket of offers from local businesses intended to ease a family's transition into an unfamiliar area.
Based on what we've heard over the last several weeks about Amtrak's plan to pull up stakes and move its Chicago maintenance yard to a new location in the South side Bridgeport neighborhood, however, it's fair to say that the rail agency may be waiting a long time for a similar offering from its future neighbors.
This all started with an announcement that Amtrak had reached an agreement to sell the site of its maintenance facility near Roosevelt and Canal along the South Branch of the Chicago River to businessman and White Sox minority owner Justin Ishbia, and move the yard to a mostly unused Union Pacific facility adjacent to Rate Field. Shortly thereafter, Ishbia's group Canal Edge LLC released renderings of a sprawling mixed-use development on the old Amtrak property called "The Railyards," which would potentially be anchored by a new White Sox ballpark.
A lot would have to happen for such a vision to be fully realized, including Ishbia becoming a majority owner of the team when the Reinsdorf family decides to sell as is widely expected in the next several years. But all of these taken together represent what local Ald. Nicole Lee calls an "existential" threat to the neighborhood.
Railroads are regulated differently than other businesses, so Amtrak can move this facility without seeking major approval from local stakeholders, though it is required to "coordinate" with authorities. Media reports suggest recent community meetings with Amtrak representatives have devolved into angry exchanges with neighbors believing the fix is in, which is not an unreasonable conclusion in a city where various fixes have seemed to be in for decades.
"I wouldn't call this community engagement," Ald. Lee told me this week after she and 36 of her City Council colleagues called for a subject-matter hearing into the development. Ald. Lee said Amtrak has not shared detailed information about potential pollution and noise impacts on the area, which has thousands of people living within 500 feet: "Actually, 6,741 (people), Geoff. I've burned that into my memory."
Amtrak development chief Steven Segerlin talked a lot about "hearing feedback" from neighbors and others during an appearance in Chicago this week, but told me that feedback will be "assessed" with the Federal Railroad Administration ... and would not commit to making any changes in the project based on that feedback.
Members of the Cook County Board this week approved a resolution opposing the move, which brought criticism from Chicago Federation of Labor president Bob Reiter, whose organization supports the move for the construction jobs it's expected to create and the modern facility that will result: "Half of their operations are outside (at the current yard) ... and I want to bring the people inside." Reiter also suggested the opposition from neighbors may have more to do with the potential departure of the White Sox, which he (correctly) said is a separate issue.
Ald. Lee and County Commissioner John Daley, whose family's history in Bridgeport is etched into Chicago lore going back to his late father Richard J., both say they support the general idea of a new Amtrak facility and express longtime support for union labor, but suggest the 35th Street location requires more study and deliberation. "What's really necessary right now, in our opinion, is to slow this process down," said Ald. Lee.
But while Amtrak's Steven Segerlin asserted that he "looks forward" to a formal invitation to testify before Chicago City Council, and CFL's Bob Reiter indicated he'd be happy to testify as well, there's no sign that this train is slowing down: Segerlin said the agency wants to begin construction early next year.
In case you were wondering, because we were, "Welcome Wagon" is still around, though its outreach is now done through the mail or online instead of in person. And based on the mood around Bridgeport, Amtrak may have to resort to gift baskets of its own before its future neighbors are ready to get on board.
